


The Definition Of Friendship

by alltheglowingeyes



Series: PJO/HoO/ToA One Shots [3]
Category: Percy Jackson and the Olympians - Rick Riordan, The Heroes of Olympus - Rick Riordan
Genre: Angst, Canon Compliant, Gen, I suck at tagging, Nico di Angelo is a Good Friend, my take on bob and nico's friendship, still not over bob's death ngl
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-02
Updated: 2020-08-02
Packaged: 2021-03-05 23:54:31
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,988
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25673911
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/alltheglowingeyes/pseuds/alltheglowingeyes
Summary: Bob frowned, “What is ‘friends’?”Nico cleared his throat, “Ah right, you don’t… Well, friends are people who trust each other. They have each other's back and uh, make each other happy?”The boy didn’t sound too sure of his explanation, but Bob liked it, “Let us be friends then! We will be good friends, Nico!”The corners of Nico’s lips twitched, “I’d like that a lot, Bob.”OR my take on Nico befriending Bob the Titan.
Relationships: Bob | Iapetus & Nico di Angelo
Series: PJO/HoO/ToA One Shots [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1861492
Comments: 22
Kudos: 111





	The Definition Of Friendship

**Author's Note:**

> I've always loved to read stories about Nico befriending Bob the Titan, but I can't find many so I decided to try and write my own.
> 
> The idea that Nico was the only character who really gave a damn about the mind-wiped Titan is something I really like to read about. It shows Nico to be so considerate, because he understands what it's like to be forgotten. I really wish Rick had given more about Nico's time "retraining" the Titan for good, but it is nice to leave some things to the imagination.
> 
> This story is also posted on fanfiction.net under the same username.
> 
> Enjoy! :)
> 
> \- alltheglowingeyes

It was lonely in the Underworld.

Normally, Bob didn’t mind. Bob enjoyed working for Master Hades and Mistress Persephone. They said his job was very important. He kept the palace clean and spotless and, occasionally, provided muscle when some spirits became unruly. Bob liked being important, so he liked his job. But every once in a while, when he would finish up cleaning and he wandered the palace rather aimlessly, he didn’t like his job. It got lonely, and Bob didn’t want to be lonely.

A solution to his plight came in the form of a short and scrawny boy. Bob remembered the boy and his companions had brought Bob to the palace. The boy got Bob his job, but then he left. So when the boy came back to the palace, making his way to one of the bedrooms, Bob followed him. He wanted to know who this child was.

The boy made his way to a room on the second floor. The room was rather large, with light grey walls adorned with minimal decorations. There was not much furniture in the room, except a queen-sized bed, with black covers, a wardrobe, and a mirror. A bathroom seemed to be connected to the room. Bob recognized the room. Master Hades told him to dust it up once in a while, to keep it fresh for the boy. The boy sat on the edge of the bed, staring at the wall. 

To Bob’s surprise, he spoke, “Why are you following me?”

It took Bob a moment to realize that the boy was addressing him, and Bob shrugged “You seemed interesting. Who are you?”

The boy turned to face Bob properly. He was thin, with unruly, black hair that was choppily cut just below his jaw and black eyes that mirrored those of Master Hades. His skin was as pale as Hades’, and he wore a black t-shirt, black jeans, and a brown aviator jacket. 

“My name is Nico di Angelo. You're Bob, right?”

Bob nodded enthusiastically, “I am Bob! I remember you and your companions. You got me my job.”

Nico hummed in agreement, “I suppose I did. Do you like your job, Bob?” he asked, looking genuinely interested.

Bob hesitated. He wasn’t sure if he should be honest, but Bob trusted Nico. He liked Nico, so he replied, “I like my job. But I do not like being alone. It is lonely here.”

Something seemed to soften in Nico’s eyes as he sighed, “I know what you mean,” he mumbled, fidgeting with a silver, skull ring on his finger. He glanced at Bob, eyeing him warily, “I’ll be coming around here a little more. Maybe we can be friends? Then, well, perhaps we could both be a little less lonely.”

Bob frowned, “What is ‘friends’?”

Nico cleared his throat, “Ah right, you don’t… Well, friends are people who trust each other. They have each other's back and uh, make each other happy?”

The boy didn’t sound too sure of his explanation, but Bob liked it, “Let us be friends then! We will be good friends, Nico!”

The corners of Nico’s lips twitched, “I’d like that a lot, Bob.”

* * *

Bob got to know Nico very well over his next few visits. Nico had a room in the palace because his dad was Master Hades. He didn’t like Mistress Persephone because she was mean and turned him into plants. He had a sister, Bianca. She was his first and only friend (before Bob, that is) but she died and he was all alone. He was supposed to stay at a place called Camp Half-Blood, for kids like him, but he was too different and didn’t feel welcomed. 

Bob felt bad for Nico. He was nice, and he was Bob’s only friend in the cold and dark Underworld. He always brought Bob little trinkets from the world above, teaching Bob about the things he was missing as he served his life in the palace. He didn’t understand why people would not want to befriend someone like Nico. 

Bob was ok with being Nico’s only friend, however. That just meant they could spend more time together. He liked learning about the world from Nico. Nico told Bob about a boy, Percy Jackson. He had been one of Nico’s friends who brought Bob to the palace. Percy Jackson was a good and kind friend, he told Bob, but he still didn’t talk to Nico much. Bob was conflicted about this other demigod. When Nico talked about Percy Jackson, he seemed to be happy, but also sad. It didn’t really make sense to Bob, but he trusted Nico, so he decided Percy Jackson was his friend.

When Nico was away, Bob liked to look through the presents Nico got him, memorabilia of the world above. He kept them safe, hidden away in his closet-turned-room, to make him feel a little less alone.

Nico got him rocks. Some were smooth and polished, others chipped and scratchy. Nico also brought him sand, a collection of tiny rocks. He gave Bob a small plant that Bob watered every single day, and pictures. So many pictures, capturing different aspects of the world above. The Eiffel Tower, the Empire State building, various beaches around the world, the Taj Mahal, views of mountain ranges, to name a few. But the picture that Bob cherished the most was on a simple postcard. It was of the dark sky, embedded with little glittering objects that, even in a picture, Bob knew shone brighter than the jewels that belonged to Master Hades. Nico called them stars. Bob loved the stars with his whole heart. He asked Nico to bring him some stars, but Nico said that he couldn’t reach them. Nico told Bob he would take Bob to see the stars someday, a thought that carried Bob through the hardest days.

One day, as Bob was silently cleaning the throne room, with Master Hades and Mistress Persephone bickering, he saw the shadows thicken in one of the corners of the room. Out of the shadows stepped, or rather limped, Nico di Angelo. 

Bob glanced over the boy. He had a few scratches littering his face, and his jacket had a tear on the right sleeve. The worst of his injuries was on his left leg, where a trail of blood followed him as he made his way to the middle of the throne room, standing in front of Master Hades and Persephone.

Bob did his best to look busy, as he listened in to their conversation. Nico did a quest for his dad, and yet Master Hades seemed rather unimpressed with his son’s work. Instead, he dismissed him to his room after Nico gave a quick report. As Bob watched the boy limp away angrily, heading to his room, Mistress Persephone began complaining about the blood he was leaving on the floor. Bob quickly swooped in, doing his best to clean the floor as the two gods left. 

He finished cleaning about ten minutes later and immediately made his way to Nico’s room. When he found the boy, he was cleaning his leg, wincing slightly as he was pouring some liquid onto it (nectar, perhaps?). 

Bob stepped next to Nico, placing a finger on the boy’s head. “Ouch,” he said, as he used his powers that he once used to heal Percy Jackson to help his friend. Nico’s cuts closed up immediately, and he seems to be in less pain.

The boy faintly smiled up at Bob, “Thank you.”

Bob grinned back at him, “You are welcome, friend! How were your travels this time?”

Nico launched into a story of the quest he had undertook for his dad. It involved chasing down a rogue hellhound, who Nico located somewhere in Arizona. Bob listened carefully to Nico’s story, as Nico’s face lit up with some excitement and the boy gesticulated wildly for emphasis. Despite how rough the quest had been, Nico looked happy to be able to talk about it.

As Nico finished up his story, he straightened up, “Ah, right! I forgot, I got you something, Bob.”

Nico made his way to his small travel bag that had been tossed carelessly to the side. He fished through his bag for a few seconds before pulling something out triumphantly. It was a beige plastic bag with the words Thank You written over and over on it in red.

“I went shopping today. Picked up some things that I thought you would like,” Nico said, handing the bag to the titan. Bob carefully opened the bag, a warm feeling sparking in his chest. 

First, Bob found a medium-sized box, which was filled with some pleasant smelling items that tasted just as nice (cupcakes, Nico called them). Bob also found another picture, this time of a rocky landscape, labeled the Grand Canyon, that was beautiful shades of reds and oranges. But the most exciting, and confusing, item was a small pack of…

“What are these?” Bob asked, squinting at the little pad of cut-out shapes. Bob picked at one of the shapes, and to his surprise it began to peel.

Nico smiled, “Well, you said you wanted stars. I can’t get you the real deal, but these are the next best thing.” He moved closer to Bob, peeling off one of the little stars, “It’s called a sticker. You can put it on your nametag or your broom or something. Then, you can carry around your own stars with you,” he said, placing the little star on Bob’s nametag.

Bob sniffled, feeling his eyes water. Nico gave him lots of nice presents, but this was the best yet, “Thank you, friend,” he cheered, pulling the boy into a long hug until Nico protested that Bob was suffocating him.

Bob began happily placing stickers onto his broom and Nico’s bedpost, Nico watching him with a fond smile on his face. In that moment, the two of them were the happiest they had been in a long while.

* * *

Nico continued to visit Bob after that until, months later, he went missing for a while. Bob was scared for his friend, but he didn’t know where he was. He kept dusting the boy’s room, making sure the stickers on his bedpost stayed put until the next time he came to visit. The next time he met a demigod, it wasn’t Nico, no. It was the legendary Percy Jackson, his friend, according to Nico. Bob jumped into Tartarus to help Percy Jackson. He promised Nico he would, and he intended to keep his promise. 

In Tartarus, Bob learned that he was not Bob. He was Iapetus, a titan. Percy Jackson had wiped his memories, he was the reason that Bob had been forced to work his life away in the Underworld. Bob was angry, and hurt. He wanted to let Percy Jackson and his girlfriend, Annabeth Chase, rot and die.

But whether he was Iapetus or Bob, he was Nico’s friend. Nico, who was kind to him, who made his time in the palace bearable. He wanted to do right by his friend. So Bob decided to help Percy Jackson and Annabeth Chase escape Tartarus. And when the time came, at the Doors of Death, Bob, with Damasen, the friendly giant, next to him, and Small Bob on his shoulder, helped Percy Jackson and Annabeth Chase get out.

As the elevator to the mortal world left, Bob was sad. He would never get to see the stars, or go to a beach, or visit any of the places that he studied in the photos strung up in his little room. But in his life, he made a friend, a good friend who made him happy during his time as a simple servant in the Underworld. Perhaps, by saving Percy Jackson and Annabeth Chase, he could make Nico happy once more. After all, was that not the definition of friendship?

**Author's Note:**

> So...
> 
> I hope you enjoyed the story. I again had trouble writing a fulfilling ending, so sorry if it's a little cringy or something. Also, if I got some details wrong in the Tartarus retelling, sorry! I haven't reread the House of Hades in a while, so I tried to keep in pretty general to avoid messing up on technicalities. And finally, sorry for saying sorry so much. :P
> 
> Any prompt ideas are welcome, and let me know what you thought of this fic. :)
> 
> You can follow me on my tumblr @alltheglowingeyess for updates on multichapter fics/a compiled list of my one-shots/random Riordanverse shit, or to just say hi. :)


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